Starglass
by Time Signature
Summary: Chapter 1: As I Think It Is - The only actual footprints left on the sand, the girl realized, were her own, the ones right under her. Alone, she felt alone. I will update when I feel like it, so don't expect them very often.
1. As I Think It Is

Starglass

Author's Note: This will be a collection of unconnected one-shots about friendship/companions.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. All rights belong to Satoshi Tajiri.

Chapter 1: As I Think It Is

Main Character(s): **May**

Genre(s): **Hurt/Comfort, Friendship**

Warning(s): Very light contestshipping.

~oOo~

Far off in the distance, the decorations for the closing ceremony of the Johto Grand Festival lit up the navy night sky, outshining the dim stars as they faintly flickered every so often like frozen teardrops. As the broken girl stared longingly at the celebrations she could not – would not – take part in, the wind stirred up the loose sand beneath her bare feet and also caressed her chestnut brown hair so some strands would obscure her already blurring vision.

May realized the heat welling up in the corners of her eyes as well as the single wet streak that had unwittingly come to her cheeks, but she denied the fact that was all too obvious, the fact that she was crying.

"It's, it's…rain. It has to be, it has to be," she murmured insistently while cupping her face in her pale hands, not minding that they would become sticky from the saline fluid. Like a mantra, she mindlessly repeated to herself, "It's rain…it's rain."

However, seemingly as though Kyogre herself wanted to disprove May's desperate wish, the waves crashed onto the cliff on the opposing side with such a sound that the girl's mumbles became inaudible.

Hearing this, May tore her eyes away from the gaudy illuminations and fireworks above the Grand Festival and gazed at the now relatively calm ocean, as its turquoise waves with crests of pure white foam lapped softly at the seashore that she was now standing on. As she watched, the waves erased the traces that showed that others had stood there earlier in the day, and the breeze ruined those footprints too far for the tide to reach. The only actual footprints left on the sand, the girl realized, were her own, the ones right under her. And even then, the ocean tried to wash them away, a fact that she could tell from the shifting particles around her uncovered feet and ankles.

Alone. She felt alone. This came not from the fact that no one else shared the empty beach (which was, in fact, true) but from the reality that no one else was with her. Not caring where she ended up, she had dashed away from the crowd in the parties, stumbling all the while from the tears that clouded her eyes, and had eventually ended up at the seashore. Only after reaching the beach and putting her hand to her empty Pokeball belt to retrieve a companion had she noticed that she had left all her Pokemon behind with Nurse Joy to give them rest after the strenuous battles.

Perhaps her natural instinct had guided her there in some unforeseen way, telling her subconsciously that there, nobody would ridicule her or try to cheer her up when she needed to be alone. And now she did feel alone, but it was too alone. No cheerful conversation or bright laughter from her group of coordinator friends who definitely were inside, enjoying the festivities. The twelve-year-old shook her head vehemently, correcting her train of thought.

"No," she whispered. "I asked them to leave me alone. It's my fault, not anyone else's."

May had initially intended to be part of the celebrations, as she had been the runner-up for the coveted position of Top Coordinator this year in Johto, but her plans abruptly changed after a short conversation with this year's winner of the Ribbon Cup, her first and greatest rival, Drew.

Crouching down onto the sand and idly tracing patterns on the shore with her finger, she remembered the interaction which had taken place and had caused her to run out of the festival.

"Drew," May called brightly after his fans and the press had dispersed, "great job. If it wasn't me on that stage, I'm glad it's you. I mean, I lost, but I gave it my all, so I'm…fine? More like I understand."

She really had been happy for him, the girl thought as she wrote "Grand Festival" in the loose sand only to be reformed by the breeze, but that had quickly changed with his teasing, yet sharp reply.

"Well, June, I didn't think you could come up to the position of Runner-up. If I had battled you sooner, you definitely wouldn't have come up there. And besides, I can't imagine you with this Ribbon Cup in your hands," the chartreuse haired boy smirked.

All around them, their friends – Solidad, Dawn, Zoey, Harley (yes, Harley), and Kenny collectively gasped, but May did not hear. Her legs, arms, her whole body froze, and she felt as though she had been doused with icy cold water or an Ice Beam.

"Wh…what…do you mean, Drew?" she questioned with a quaking voice.

Looking back on the scene, probably his next phrase had made her run away. He had said triumphantly, "Exactly what you think it means."

To give credit to Drew, he had not meant to say something so hurtful to May. He had only wanted to give her some constructive criticism (and a rose, although he would say to her Glaceon), but his pride could not help making that comment. He did not think those sentences would impact her so much, but the fact was that they did.

May created a picture of a Ribbon Cup in the wet sand, mentally replaying how she had staggered away from the group, crying "Leave me alone," as soon as the shock lessened enough for her to move away. She was too caught up in herself to hear her friends call her name and ask her to come back.

Having finished her reminiscing, the coordinator stood up and flicked away the sand covering her kneecaps and shins. Then she looked up at the softly shining moon, where at least the lunar goddess, Cresselia, would be watching her, and wailed, "Nothing is as I think it is!"

_Nothing…nothing..._

The cliffs echoed her despairing cries, surrounding her in faint reverberations of "nothing." They washed over her, deepening her depression that she had been wrong in the assumption that she had ever been seen as a proper rival from Drew, that it had always been a one-way thing…The girl did not notice the slight rose-colored feelings inside _her _rivalry, but either way they had been crushed.

May had never felt more _alone_ than she did now, enveloped in a dark sky and an equally dark sea, even the sands shadowed by the clouds now covering the moon. The Grand Festival felt far, far beyond her reach. The tears, which had stopped for a short while, ran down her pale cheeks unstoppably and into the waves, making a soft, soft _plop_ each time one fell. Her vision became fuzzy as she kept yelling, "Why, why?" as though it was the only thing she knew how to say.

But then a single ray of moonshine escaped the clouds, illuminating a patch of sand between May and the Festival. When she glanced over there, she heard footsteps and familiar voices calling her name, and saw her comrades running over to where she stood, not minding the sand that came into their shoes (Harley being the exception).

Drew reached her first, panting, for he had come at his fastest pace. Reaching into his pocket for his signature red rose, he gasped, "May, I'm sorry."

May could not believe her ears, but here he was, apologizing? Her doubt must have shown on her face, for her other friends who soon caught up started frantically explaining.

"Listen, May," started Dawn. "It's not that we were enjoying the party while you weren't there…and Harley, you be quiet. It's just, it's just…"

Solidad picked up from where she trailed off. "The press noticed the little 'scene' and started crowding around us. You didn't notice because you ran off before they came around, but they started bombarding us with questions, and –"

Harley cut in, "May-May, how could you push all that on us? It was a real hassle, having to answer all of those questions like, 'What happened between May and Drew?' and 'Is May jealous of Drew's win in the final battle?' and things like that. Hun, we couldn't get to you because there were just too many people. The fans came, and then the passers-by came too, because they noticed me."

"Harley…" panned the others. Drew continued, "I said too much. You're a great rival." Saying so, he pulled out the flower from his back and pressed it into a stunned May's hand, turning his face to the night sky to hide his slight blushing.

All the others made a circle around the two and nodded vigorously, telling May that she was a wonderful coordinator and an even better friend. However, noticing that she herself had not uttered a word, they waited for her to say something.

The brunette finally opened her mouth, and questioned, "Really…?"

Her friends laughed and smiled not at, but _with_ her. May felt a tingling warmth tug at her heartstrings for her friends that had done so much for her.

"…you," the girl murmured. "Thank you." As the words came into being, May could not help that last tear from falling on the sand.

Zoey patted the other girl's back as she pulled her shoes back on and chuckled, "Don't cry. You're going to pull me in too. Laugh!"

As the group of friends ushered May back to the bright celebrations, she glanced back just once to the seashore. She smiled softly when she saw that neither the waves nor the winds had ruined the heart she had drawn in the sand.

After they had all gone away, the stars above the place the friends had stood twinkled faintly like –

_Frozen teardrops._

~oOo~

Author's Note: Starglass will be a collection of unconnected one-shots.

I will accept requests for the following genres: angst, family, friendship, hurt/comfort, poetry, and tragedy.

You may add character (human or Pokémon) names and/or scenarios in your requests. For characters, please choose anime, manga, or normal game (not PMD or Rangers, etc.) characters.

This was my first published fanfiction. I hope you enjoyed it!

Time Signature


	2. Instinct

Starglass

A/N: From this chapter on (and in other stories), I will introduce a new character just for the A/Ns. She is Key Signature, and will be the other "me," who is more logical and less hyper. She will stop my crazy outbursts and fix my errors.

Anyway…moving on to Ch. 2, which has been requested by Contestshipper16, aka Anica! I've changed things, but the idea is the same (hopefully).

Her original request was, "May is traveling alone. Something happens and she gets in the hospital, which is shown on TV and Drew goes to see what happens. When she wakes up, he has to help her walk, etc."

Key: What are you saying? You're the one who shamelessly requested for a request!

Ehehehe…that aside, hope you enjoy this!

Chapter 2: Instinct

Warnings: Light Beautifly/ Masquerain (Gossamershipping) included.

~oOo~

May hummed lightly as she practiced with her Glaceon and Blaziken for the upcoming contest in a small clearing of a forest bare of leaves. She felt a little lonely, as she was now traveling alone in the new region of Johto, but she reminded herself that she needed to remain strong. She had to fight for herself now, and her fears would reflect on her Pokemon, which would in turn affect their performances.

After thinking awhile about her newest appeal, she yelled, "Keep sending Ice Shard up to the sky, while Blaze Kicking them to make a spiral!"

Glaceon blew out crystals that reflected the noon sun brilliantly, which the Fire type swiftly kicked together. They seemed to have understood May's intention to create a vortex made of ice, but it was, as most contest moves were, easier said than done. The flames surrounding Blaziken's feet melted the shards as soon as they came in contact, and Glaceon could not keep up with that pace.

"You can do it! Believe in yourself!" encouraged their trainer, unconsciously stepping closer to the Pokemon so she could see them better. Suddenly, both Pokemon stopped their attacks, instead frantically trying to reach May (or above her).

"Wha-" As the girl looked up, she saw the silhouette of a rapidly approaching missile headed straight for her. Before she could react or her partners could help her, it struck.

May desperately tried to cling on to the thinning strands of her consciousness. Her last conscious thought, "I need that ribbon…," faded into the blackness that slowly seeped before her eyes.

oOo

Drew and his team had just sat down for a late lunch when Masquerain abruptly flew up. The coordinator looked to the sky, where his Pokemon had been joined with – a Beautifly? It was hard to tell because of the bright sun, but he soon confirmed it as they soared down to him.

Now that it was at close distance, the other Pokemon seemed familiar. It bore a stunning resemblance to May's, which he had "given" so many roses to. While he was thinking, however, it began twittering agitatedly and circled the boy many times. Masquerain, having understood the message, tried to convey it to him as well, but failed. Then, coming up with a plan that might succeed better, it fluttered over to the recently evolved Roserade and talked to it instead.

Roserade, who had been with Drew the longest, shared the greatest bond with him. It came up to its trainer, using its "hands" to depict the urgency of the situation. When he still appeared confused, it lost its patience and simply dragged him along to his Flygon. By this time, all the Pokemon had finished eating, so Drew packed up his things and boarded the dragon. He had a feeling, a bad one at that.

The two bug types sped before the majestic green Pokemon, soaring high and low as Beautifly led and the rest followed. The cold wind whipped Drew's normally maintained hair around, making some strands limit his vision. However, as Flygon was going as fast as it could to keep up with the unbelievably fast Beautifly, he dared not let his hands go.

Finally, May's loyal Pokemon shot down to where her friends, who had been released by the worried Blaziken, surrounded their precious trainer. They had moved the unconscious girl from the frozen, hard ground to her Venusaur. Sighting the limp form of his _rival_, Drew jumped down from his Flygon as soon as it was safe and ran to her.

"May!" he yelled, knowing that she would not reply.

Blaziken, who had been protecting and warming May, quickly stepped aside to let the green-haired trainer take over. Drew saw Potions, Poke-balls, and other random items strewn about, most likely the doing of her Pokemon, who wished to help her like she did to them. Stepping over all of this, he quickly gestured for Blaziken to place May on his Flygon and for all the other Pokemon to return to their respective balls. Then he threw everything inside May's fanny pack, got on the waiting dragon, and instructed it to find the nearest Pokemon Center.

Once the signature red-and-white dome came into view, Drew let out a breath of relief. Then he ordered Flygon to land in the open space before the building and had Blaziken carry May to Nurse Joy. He recalled the giant Pokemon to its ball and quickly raced after the Fire type.

"Nurse Joy," he gasped, "is she going to be ok?"

The pink-haired lady, pushing the stretcher with May on it, answered, "I don't know, but I'll do the best I can."

Having to be satisfied with this answer for now, Drew sat on the bench outside the room where May was being attended to. When the light finally turned off and Nurse Joy came out, he got to his feet and asked, "Is she ok?"

This time, she smiled and replied, "Of course. There'll be a little bruise for a while, but other than that, she's perfectly fine. All she needs is some rest."

Drew let out a breath that he did not know he was holding. Since the nurse had given him permission, he stepped inside to where May was propped up with a few pillows, eyes closed and a peaceful expression on her face.

Grasping her hand, he whispered, "You really worried me there, you know. Don't surprise me like that – I thought you were dead."

May did not say anything. Instead, perhaps by instinct, she tightened her grip on his hand a little harder.

~oOo~

Author's Note: How did you enjoy this? Anica, I'm really sorry that it doesn't fit your request that much – the story started moving on its own.

This chapter had a lot more Contestshipping than the first, which focused more on friendship. I liked writing both, though.

See you soon!

Time Signature


End file.
